Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 70[a]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; of David. For remembrance.
2 Graciously rescue me, God!(A)
Come quickly to help me, Lord!(B)
3 Let those who seek my life
be confused and put to shame.(C)
Let those who desire my ruin
turn back in disgrace.
4 Let those who say “Aha!”(D)
turn back in their shame.
5 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you,
Those who long for your help
always say, “God be glorified!”(E)
6 I am miserable and poor.
God, come to me quickly!
You are my help and deliverer.
Lord, do not delay!
Psalm 71[b]
Prayer in Time of Old Age
I
1 In you, Lord, I take refuge;(F)
let me never be put to shame.(G)
2 In your justice rescue and deliver me;
listen to me and save me!
3 Be my rock of refuge,
my stronghold to give me safety;
for you are my rock and fortress.(H)
4 My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
from the clutches of the evil and violent.(I)
5 You are my hope, Lord;
my trust, God, from my youth.
6 On you I have depended since birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength;(J)
my hope in you never wavers.
7 [c]I have become a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge!
8 My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
shall sing your glory every day.
II
9 Do not cast me aside in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not forsake me.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
they watch and plot against me.(K)
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
Pursue, and seize him!
No one will come to the rescue!”
12 God, be not far from me;
my God, hasten to help me.(L)
13 Bring to a shameful end
those who attack me;
Cover with contempt and scorn
those who seek my ruin.(M)
14 I will always hope in you
and add to all your praise.
15 My mouth shall proclaim your just deeds,
day after day your acts of deliverance,
though I cannot number them all.(N)
16 I will speak of the mighty works of the Lord;
O God, I will tell of your singular justice.
III
17 God, you have taught me from my youth;
to this day I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 Now that I am old and gray,(O)
do not forsake me, God,
That I may proclaim your might
to all generations yet to come,(P)
Your power 19 and justice, God,
to the highest heaven.
You have done great things;(Q)
O God, who is your equal?(R)
20 Whatever bitter afflictions you sent me,
you would turn and revive me.
From the watery depths of the earth
once more raise me up.
21 Restore my honor;
turn and comfort me,
22 That I may praise you with the lyre
for your faithfulness, my God,
And sing to you with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel!
23 My lips will shout for joy as I sing your praise;
my soul, too, which you have redeemed.
24 Yes, my tongue shall recount
your justice day by day.
For those who sought my ruin
have been shamed and disgraced.
Psalm 74[a]
Prayer at the Destruction of the Temple
1 A maskil of Asaph.
I
Why, God, have you cast us off forever?[b](A)
Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?(B)
2 Remember your people, whom you acquired of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your own heritage,
Mount Zion where you dwell.(C)
3 Direct your steps toward the utter destruction,
everything the enemy laid waste in the sanctuary.
4 Your foes roared triumphantly in the place of your assembly;
they set up their own tokens of victory.
5 They hacked away like a forester gathering boughs,
swinging his ax in a thicket of trees.
6 They smashed all its engraved work,
struck it with ax and pick.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire,
profaned your name’s abode by razing it to the ground.(D)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will destroy them all!
Burn all the assembly-places of God in the land!”
9 [c]Even so we have seen no signs for us,
there is no prophet any more,(E)
no one among us who knows for how long.
10 How long, O God, will the enemy jeer?(F)
Will the enemy revile your name forever?
11 Why draw back your hand,
why hold back your right hand within your bosom?[d]
II
12 [e]Yet you, God, are my king from of old,
winning victories throughout the earth.
13 You stirred up the sea by your might;(G)
you smashed the heads of the dragons on the waters.(H)
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan,(I)
gave him as food to the sharks.
15 You opened up springs and torrents,
brought dry land out of the primeval waters.[f]
16 Yours the day and yours the night too;
you set the moon and sun in place.
17 You fixed all the limits of the earth;
summer and winter you made.(J)
18 Remember how the enemy has jeered, Lord,
how a foolish people has reviled your name.
19 Do not surrender to wild animals those who praise you;
do not forget forever the life of your afflicted.
20 Look to your covenant,
for the recesses of the land
are full of the haunts of violence.
21 Let not the oppressed turn back in shame;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, God, defend your cause;
remember the constant jeering of the fools.
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
the unceasing uproar of your enemies.
Chapter 44
Praise of Israel’s Great Ancestors[a]
1 I will now praise the godly,
our ancestors, in their own time,[b]
2 The abounding glory of the Most High’s portion,
his own part, since the days of old.(A)
3 Subduers of the land in kingly fashion,
renowned for their might,
Counselors in their prudence,
seers of all things in prophecy,(B)
4 Resolute princes of the flock,
lawgivers and their rules,
Sages skilled in composition,
authors of sharp proverbs,
5 Composers of melodious psalms,
writers of lyric poems;
6 Stalwart, solidly established,
at peace in their own estates—
7 All these were glorious in their time,
illustrious in their day.
8 Some of them left behind a name
so that people recount their praises.
9 Of others no memory remains,
for when they perished, they perished,
As if they had never lived,
they and their children after them.
10 Yet these also were godly;
their virtues have not been forgotten.
11 Their wealth remains in their families,
their heritage with their descendants.
12 Through God’s covenant their family endures,
and their offspring for their sake.
13 And for all time their progeny will endure,
their glory will never be blotted out;
14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
but their name lives on and on.(C)
15 At gatherings their wisdom is retold,
and the assembly proclaims their praises.
12 The sixth angel emptied his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.[a] 13 I saw three unclean spirits like frogs[b] come from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.(A) 14 These were demonic spirits who performed signs. They went out to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God the almighty.(B) 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief.”[c] Blessed is the one who watches and keeps his clothes ready, so that he may not go naked and people see him exposed.)(C) 16 They then assembled the kings in the place that is named Armageddon[d] in Hebrew.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.”(D) 18 Then there were lightning flashes, rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake. It was such a violent earthquake that there has never been one like it since the human race began on earth.(E) 19 The great city[e] was split into three parts, and the gentile cities fell. But God remembered great Babylon, giving it the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath. 20 [f]Every island fled, and mountains disappeared. 21 Large hailstones like huge weights came down from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because this plague was so severe.(F)
18 [a]Then he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.’”(A)
The Parable of the Yeast.(B) 20 Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed [in] with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
The Narrow Door; Salvation and Rejection.[b] 22 He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, 24 (C)“Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.(D) 25 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’(E) 26 And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ 27 (F)Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 (G)And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.(H) 30 For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”(I)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.